Since opening in May 2022, the Elizabeth line has been used by hundreds of thousands of Londoners every day.
It stretches more than 62 miles from Reading and Heathrow in the west, through central tunnels across to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east.
Now, a year after it opened, more changes are expected on London’s newest rail line to improve the service further.
From additional trains to shorter journey times, commuters who rely on the Elizabeth line should see their journeys made easier.
Find out below what changes we can expect to see on the Lizzie line from next month.
How will the Elizabeth line change in May?
By May 2023, Elizabeth line services will run to the final peak timetable.
Additionally, 24 trains an hour will run between Paddington and Whitechapel at peak times, up from 22.
Howard Smith, Transport for London’s (TfL’s) Elizabeth line director, said: “As well as increasing peak-time services between Paddington and Whitechapel, to mean a train roughly every 2.5 minutes in both directions, there will also be direct services from Shenfield in Essex to Heathrow Airport for the first time, with more trains serving the airport each hour.
“The new timetable will also remove any significant dwell times for trains between Paddington and Acton Main Line, which were in place temporarily ahead of this new timetable.
“This timetable sees the completion of the Crossrail project, but we will continue to review the Elizabeth line timetables and changes can be made twice each year in line with National Rail timetable changes to add capacity where possible and provide the best service for customers.”
Eventually, wi-fi access will be extended from the stations to the tunnels.
TfL will also continue to update the line’s software.
What is the new Elizabeth line timetable?
From May 21, bosses say a new timetable will run, allowing customers to go from Shenfield to Heathrow Airport without needing to change at Paddington.
The new timetable also means that commuters will no longer have to wait outside Paddington.
How much did the Elizabeth line cost?
It was well reported that the line went above the expected cost. Although no official figures have been released, the National Audit Office estimated that the final cost to build the railway finished cost around £18.9bn. It was originally set a budget of £14.8bn in 2010, when the project was approved.
Where does the Elizabeth line go?
Trains will be running every two-and-a-half minutes in both directions at peak times and will go between Paddington and Whitechapel, with Transport for London adding that there will be around 16 trains an hour during off-peak times.
The length of the line will be between Shenfield in Essex and Heathrow Airport. For this service, there will be two services each hour and passengers will not have to change trains.
It is expected the changes will see more passengers using the line because of its ease. Rail bosses also expect the line to get busier if and when the highly controversial HS2 project starts running high-speed journeys between Birmingham and London. Under the current plans for that project, the London termination point for HS2 will be at the Elizabeth line station, Old Oak Common.
